Fall - InsideOutdoor Magazine
Fall - InsideOutdoor Magazine Fall - InsideOutdoor Magazine
Merrell’s Bedlam is an “action sport inspired” camouflaged canvas boot for multisport use. Of course, in the bigger picture, trail shoes are getting lighter and sleeker. Even boot brand Lowa made a major push into the trail running and outdoor crosstraining categories this year. But at the same time, there’s also a sense that low-cut profiles and slimmed down outsoles won’t work for every done-in-a-day activity and end user. So among the many “athletic-inspired,” mesh upper trail runners, there was a fair share of high-cut, leather-based hikers and even a few new “light backpacking” boots designed to crossover as “everyday use shoes.” Again, ultralight, by no means, has become less important. It’s just not driving every design decision as it seemed to do during the past few years. Or at least its predominant place on the hype cycle has been somewhat usurped by “going green” and sustainability. Sustaining Momentum Meanwhile, from outsole to outerwear, the sustainability groove continues to charge the room, some advocates looking to change their products, some looking to change the world. Some more realistic about change than others. As would be expected, there was a bounty of green gear and components, but the call to sustainable living is causing more subtle changes that go beyond the greening of products and production. Consider a shift taking place within outdoor lifestyle apparel, for example. Sure, there’s organic cotton and earthfriendly bamboo, but there’s also a trend emerging that, at least partly, can be traced back to the bike-to-work movement. The concept of “function meets fashion” has become cliché in the world of outdoor apparel, but we are seeing a slightly new twist on this old trend. It’s difficult to wrap a label around the concept, but it deviates a bit from “performance pieces in fashionable colors and stylings” and represents more than “works in the outdoors but still looks good.” What we are seeing now is more about “function meets function,” as in sport performance functionality in the back with design functionalities for office and everyday life in the front. 20 | InsideOutdoor | Fall 2008 The model is best illustrated by the bike commuter clothing lines from folks such as Gramicci and Smartwool. A pair of wool bike/work shorts from Smartwool, for example, sports a woven twill typical of wool suits, says Smartwool’s PR firm SnL Communications, while a smart city jacket by Gramicci hides a reflective strip tucked away in a lower back pocket. Merrell Apparel, for its part, incorporates reflective strips on the sleeve of a shirt that strap down around the wrist, hidden from sight, when in the office. Stretch jeans, cycling shorts with a removable chamois and argyle performance socks, such as those from Fox River, also define the trend. Whatever marketers decide to call it, one upshot of this trend is the expansion of outdoor apparel from the weekend trail and into daily life and the work week, without necessarily chasing the fashion whims of department store shoppers or waiting for outdoor looks to once again become “fashionable.” Moving a bit more directly within the sustainability movement, solar and self-powered technologies continue to get increasingly interesting, if for no other reason than the potentially massive impact they can have on the world’s energy production and consumption. Companies such as Brunton and Seattle Sports lead the way with new alternative-powered lights, Fox River’s new performance argyle socks exemplify the trend toward office/outdoor crossover apparel. radios and chargers, with increasingly impressive output and charging capabilities. One particularly nifty item is the self-powered ActiveTrax Audio from Seattle Sports. The ActiveTrax combines an iPod/mp3 speaker with an AM/FM/Weatherband radio that is charged through dynamo cranking or a built-in solar panel. Small enough to take anywhere, the ActiveTrax Audio cranks out impressive sound without the need for batteries or electricity. Elsewhere, one of the more interesting possibilities among the alt-powered opportunities was found over on the less-traveled ESA show floor, in the PowerFilm booth. PowerFilm produces monolithically integrated solar panels on thin and flexible plastic using a roll-to-roll The ActiveTrax Audio from Seattle Sports can be charged via crank or sun power.
Paris. Milan. New York. Des Moines. Is Iowa the new fashion mecca? It’s possible, now that DuPont has created a renewably sourced polymer for fabric with corn, DuPont Sorona ® . It’s exactly what manufacturers, designers and buyers look for in a premiere fabric. Rich, vibrant colors. True blacks and whites. Comfort stretch and recovery. Fade resistance. Easy care. It also has something unexpected—it’s smart for the environment. That’s because it’s the only high-performance polymer made with a renewable resource. So not only will Sorona ® make consumers feel good in their activewear, swimwear or even lingerie, they’ll feel great about your brand. Be the first in your field to be glamorously green. Visit sorona.dupont.com or call 1-866-4-SORONA. © 2008 DuPont. All rights reserved. The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont, The miracles of science, Sorona ® and Renewably Sourced are registered trademarks or trademarks of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company or its affiliates.
- Page 1 and 2: Fall 2008 www.insideoutdoor.com UNC
- Page 3 and 4: F A B R I C AS LON ONG AS THE WOR L
- Page 5 and 6: Yaktrax Ice Traction keeps you safe
- Page 7 and 8: Photographs by Dan Milner Every day
- Page 10 and 11: Data Points 40% Consumers Conversel
- Page 12 and 13: Rep Moves and News GreenRep.org ann
- Page 14 and 15: Salt Lake in the Rearview Mirror Ph
- Page 16 and 17: Photo courtesy Outdoor Retailer So
- Page 18 and 19: Anglers enjoy the versatility of SU
- Page 22 and 23: manufacturing process that the comp
- Page 24 and 25: Is your business ready to make it t
- Page 26 and 27: C.A.M.P. Cosmic Helmet We all have
- Page 28 and 29: M-Rock Multi-Use Camera Bags The se
- Page 30 and 31: A Healthy Dose of Textile Technolog
- Page 32 and 33: Information Sources: Outdoor versus
- Page 34: In addition to the sporting benefit
- Page 37 and 38: push for change often generates fro
- Page 39 and 40: Top Five Challenges for Developing
- Page 41 and 42: Optimer, 180’s Settle Infringemen
- Page 43 and 44: Vibram Stands Out with 2CM Performa
- Page 45 and 46: Available in a variety of widths fo
- Page 47 and 48: Back Office Top Sources of Shrink E
- Page 49 and 50: Our full-service Marketing and PR f
- Page 51 and 52: ADAPTIVE COMFORT
Paris.<br />
Milan.<br />
New York.<br />
Des Moines.<br />
Is Iowa the new fashion mecca? It’s possible, now that DuPont has created a<br />
renewably sourced polymer for fabric with corn, DuPont Sorona ® . It’s exactly what<br />
manufacturers, designers and buyers look for in a premiere fabric. Rich, vibrant colors.<br />
True blacks and whites. Comfort stretch and recovery. Fade resistance. Easy care.<br />
It also has something unexpected—it’s smart for the environment. That’s because it’s<br />
the only high-performance polymer made with a renewable resource. So not only will<br />
Sorona ® make consumers feel good in their activewear, swimwear or even lingerie,<br />
they’ll feel great about your brand. Be the first in your field to be glamorously green.<br />
Visit sorona.dupont.com or call 1-866-4-SORONA.<br />
© 2008 DuPont. All rights reserved. The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont, The miracles of science, Sorona ® and Renewably Sourced<br />
are registered trademarks or trademarks of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company or its affiliates.
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